Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy

KETAMINE ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

Do you hear people talking about psychedelics or deeply intimate inner journeys but feel too vulnerable about doing this without professional oversight? Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) may be a gentle entry-point into what is often termed “altered states of consciousness.”

KAP is a specialized tool to add to the therapeutic process to address stuck patterns, lift the fog, and create shifts when you are not otherwise getting traction toward your goals.

In addition to the psychiatric approach of taking ketamine to treat the symptoms of anxiety and depression, using ketamine in a therapy setting encourages profound psychological shifts. KAP treatment often facilitates emotional movement to ‘progress the plot,’ as well as a loosening of rigid thought patterns to allow for limiting beliefs and memories to transform.

    • Synthetic dissociative medication

    • FDA approved intervention for depression and an anesthetic

    • Can increase neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to change)

    • Can decrease anxiety, depression, and suicidality

    • Party drug and controlled substance (when used medicinally, doses are much lower than what would constitute a “K-hole”)

    In learning about ketamine, you will see that there is controversy about referring to ketamine as a psychedelic medicine. The chemical compound and mechanism differ from the classic psychedelic definition, but the subjective experience is often described as psychedelic. You are more likely to see academic contexts refer to ketamine as an anesthetic and not a psychedelic but psychedelic-adjacent for its potential to produce “altered states of consciousness.”

  • While ketamine treatment alone can provide much-needed relief for folks, combining this medicine with mental health therapy enhances the support for lasting change and healing rather than symptom management.

    If you’re researching this online, you will see ketamine treatment versus ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP).

    Ketamine treatment can look like going to a ketamine-clinic and getting ketamine delivered intramuscularly or intravenously. It can look like nasal administration of esketamine nasal (which is a molecule of ketamine, but not the full chemical compound). Some companies are delivering ketamine straight to your home without much medical oversight or therapeutic support (if any).

    KAP is different because you take the medicine in a thoughtfully structured setting and actually have the relationship of the therapist to help guide the experience, generally producing more insight and psychological change.

    Where ketamine treatment can be useful for symptom management (though I would warn against companies with little patient support), KAP views ketamine as the catalyst for the psychological shifts you really want to see happen in your life.

    KAP research is relatively young and developing. Providing KAP is logically consistent with psychopharmacological research findings indicating greater therapeutic outcomes of psychiatric medication when paired with mental health therapy rather than psychiatric medication alone.

    • Folks who feel stuck and need traction in their healing

    • Folks who are ready for deeper insight

    • Folks who feel like the tools are right in front of them, but it's not sinking in

    • Trauma, anxiety, depression, OCD, disordered eating, etc.

    • Clients currently participating in mental health therapy (either with Angie or another therapist- Angie will gladly coordinate with your primary therapist to support the work you’re already doing together")

    *generally not for folks with certain untreated medical conditions (thyroid, blood pressure, cranial pressure, etc.) or active psychosis/mania. This is not medical advice. Feel free to ask for more information.

    • Assessment with KAP therapist: Is this a good fit for me right now?

    • Medical evaluation: Am I eligible to safely participate in this treatment?

    • Preparation: Goals, expectations, treatment planning, client readiness

    • Dosing: Take medicine with KAP therapist present in an intentionally therapeutic and comfortable setting, enhance and process the effects of the medicine.

    • Integration: As altered states of consciousness often create more psychological openness, participating in therapy during these medicinal effects can deepen insight, curiosity, and self-acceptance.

  • My KAP rates are $200/hour. For our first session, we meet prior to taking the medicine 2-3 times at minimum, schedule a dosing session for 3 hours, then meet within 72 hours of dosing for an integration session.

    *Ketamine prescribed by a third party. This part of the cost (medical oversight and prescription) may vary depending on the preferred provider.

  • I received KAP training and certification from Fluence and Journey Clinical in 2024

  • An overview of clinical application of ketamine according to Yale Medicine

    Dr. Alex Huberman’s in depth description of Ketamine

    MAPS collection of books with relevance to altered states of consciousness

    Ketamine Research Foundation